Working from your home helps since you only interact with people via social media or the telephone.

As with anything in life there are divergent paths and there is not a single path for everyone.

All paths lead to pros and cons that you must determine for yourself, and if you are willing to accept the responsibility for your choosing your path.

I offer this caveat, never spend more than your budget will allow and never go into debt to fund your freelancing business.

How comfortable and transparent are you working from home?

By transparent, I don’t mean giving out your personal information. I mean is being your authentic self.

Clients don’t purchase from people they don’t know or don’t trust.

Honing your interpersonal skills is a must to build trust through building relationships with visitors to your blog, website, and social media platforms.

It is how and how often you interact with others in your circle of followers and those following you. Are you helpful, do you answer questions, how often you blog, do you offer education, do you offer value. Why should someone interact with you if you don’t interact with them and other in your chosen niche.

Each individual must create their own schedule of interacting on social media and how much they are willing to interact online,

What does it take to become a freelancer?

I have written about this in posts on this blog. One post is The 7 P’s of Freelance Writing. It was written back some time ago.

In that post, I mentioned certain items that apply to general freelancing as well.

These items are:

Performance –

Presentation –

Professionalism –

Polish –

Personal Contact –

Persistence –

Patience –

I could write about what these words mean to me but if you want to be a freelancer, you will have to find out what these words mean to you in your business, because freelancing is a business, and it you fail to treat it like a business your business is destined to fail.

Call Yourself a Freelancer and They Will Beat a Path to Your Door

First, forget about that happening, especially if you’re an introvert.

Second, do not quit your day job until you are making enough to allow you to do so. Each person must make that determination on just how much money they need to live the lifestyle they wish to continue living or compromise living on.

Third, if you are in the United States, think about what the federal, state, and local government might think about you doing business from home if clients come to you.

Fourth, if you work for someone or a company that has a benefits package, are you willing to give that up and start paying your own way by freelancing full-time.

Fifth, consider the fact that as a freelancer you will be competing against other freelancers from around the world and some probably willing to work cheaper than you.

As a newbie freelancer, you have no portfolio, no reputation, and face it; no experience working with clients and understanding their needs.

Start slowly and build your credibility, reputation, brand and what is unique about what you have to offer potential clients so they choose you over another freelancer that has been doing it longer than you.

What is your Plan?

Have you thought about the following?

Do you even have a plan on how to proceed?

Have you written a business Plan?

How are you going to finance your freelancing?

Where are you going to work from?

Are you planning on establishing a separate business bank account?

What are you going to name your business?

Have you thought about a domain name for your website?

Are you going to create a blog?

If you are on social media, are going o create a separate business social media account.

Are you going to have a business phone and business cell phone separate from personal ones?

What about selling via a separate voice mail than your home voice mail?

Does this give you pause for thought?

I trust it does because there are many things to think about when calling yourself a freelancer and being willing to do whatever and however long it takes to become a freelancer making a living.

Many of the household names in online marketing have been at it for years. It is possible to take years to become an overnight success.

Any business that is still around started as a start-up and worked hard to become a success.

Have Questions about Running a Business

If you are in the United States, there are sources of information online at the following:

Anxiety, Diabetes Type 2, Gout, Hypercholesterolemia, Meniere’s Disease, Neuropathy, Osteoarthritis, Osteopenia, Pernicious Anemia, and Supraventricular Tachycardia. I have a small pharmacy in my home because of these conditions.

The week of November 15, 2015 was not a good one for me. This is not an excuse for not keeping up with reading and learning about how to increase traffic and marketing my services online. It just takes longer.

On Wednesday November 15, 2015, my wife and I needed to run some errands. While out of the house, many physical manifestations began to arise. Their toll felt for days afterward.

I am grateful to be able to work from home with no supervisor hovering over me, wondering why I’m not busting hump on the latest project. I did have some problems with supervisors at my job with PacBell, a contributing factor to my retiring early. I retired at age 58.

As age crept up on me, so did other medical conditions. Cataract surgery for one. These are the “Golden years”.

If you are living with health issues

First, create a sick day plan.

The sick day plan should include working on some aspect of your business. Being under the weather doesn’t mean you give up. It only means you may have to rearrange your schedule.

Second, keeping up with clients.

If a time comes when you are not 100 percent, you need to contact your client and let them know, especially if any illness may adversely affect the timeline you’ve given them for their contracted project.

Looking like an amateur to your client is horrendous to your business and personal reputation by not keeping them up to date on their project.

Third, always keep as healthy as possible.

When working, you must consider making time for yourself. You must eat, exercise, and take mental health breaks to maintain optimal health. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for you and your business. If you are not 100 percent, your business won’t be either.

Your health is more important than your business if you work from home as a freelancer or consultant.

I can attest to this from personal experience.

Consider creating a wellness program for optimal health that will allow you to run your home based business efficiently and effectively.

Facebook, created years ago, has a growing membership in the multimillions. Facebook frequently changes their algorithms, with subsequent algorithm changes, organic page likes fluctuate as does post reach, unless an account holder pays for expanded reach. The more you pay the greater the reach, these costs for expanded reach range from five dollars to two hundred dollars. The more you are willing to purchase reach the greater the reach. Promotion and advertising reach will cost you whatever you can afford. The more you can afford the greater the reach.

What is Reach?

Reach simply put, is the number of people that will see your Facebook post or advertisement.

Is Pay to Play Right for Your Business?

First, no business should go into debt, to fund their business and reaching out for new customers and advertising. Going into debt to fund your business is one way you quickly go out of business.

NOTE: Never spend more than you can comfortable afford on your business from revenue.

If you are an entrepreneur, freelancer, or small business, how much can you budget for paying to play against revenue to run your business is an extremely important equation. This is part of your marketing budget expense. What can you realistically afford without leaving the business short of funding and operational expenses? All businesses must know this number at all times. Put your account hat on and keep a handle on your working capital and budget items.

Whether entrepreneur or freelancer, you are a business, this is something that you must keep in mind. You must also realize that the business income is not your money; the money belongs to the business for operation and growth, not for paying personal living expenses.

Under funding, is a major cause of businesses closing down. Can you afford to spend money you don’t have? Most people who spend more than they make are soon in deep financial trouble. Don’t be one of them!

If you plan is having money and time to be free by starting a business, don’t. For a business to be viable, you will be spending many hours, weeks, and months devoting both to the business.

There is a dramatic learning curve to creating a startup. Most startups cannot afford to outsource many of the day-to-day operations. In the beginning, these operations are up to you until the business can afford the costs of outsourcing which isn’t cheap.

This is what true pay to play is all about. You want to freelance, or create a startup; it is going to cost you to join the ranks of entrepreneur. Don’t spend what you don’t have from the business.

I have seen Freelancers on different social sites asking about various places where they can find freelance jobs.

If you think freelancing will make you more income than your current job, think again, because there are no guarantees in freelancing, just as there are no guarantees in life. It is all about how hard you are willing to put forth the effort and determination.

These are only a few notification sites where you can bid on the posted jobs with no guarantee of obtaining work on any of these sites, which are only a small portion of available sites on the internet.

Would you buy something without a warranty? Then, why would you pay for only a chance at seeing posted jobs only to post a bid or offer your services to someone with no guarantee of a job.

It does not seem right to pay only for opportunities to bid without knowing you can actually get freelance work after paying just for a chance.

There are other productive ways of finding freelance jobs locally at first, which will help you build a portfolio and gain experience in your chosen freelance niche.

No matter how much you may hate it, do not be in a hurry to quit your day job, it pays the bills for now and a paycheck is guaranteed if you put in the time.

Think about this: More than 80 percent of freelancers have side jobs accord to The Freelancers Union. Did you think all freelancers made tons of money; well think again, the number of freelancers making self-sufficient income is small.

Take freelancing slowly; build your reputation, because YOU are your brand. Freelancing is a big business and you need to learn the business part of freelancing as well as what your specific freelance niche is all about, this takes time and a good deal of reading about your niche so you are educated in what it takes to be a successful freelancer in that niche.

The more you know the better equipped you will be to understand the clients pain points and be able to address them. If you cannot understand a client’s needs, how will you be able to handle their needs?

Working as a freelancer, I have found freelancing frustrating, depressive, and irritating to the point where I have thought of saying, “I quit!” This is when I need to walk away, regroup myself, and get back to learning more about marketing my services while working on any outstanding projects.

Most potential clients already have someone whom they trust offering the same services I do, so how do I find people willing to work with me, because of finances, there is less than a shoestring budget to work with. When living on a fixed income, there is never enough money to work with a mentor, purchase programs, travel expenses to conferences, lodging, food, and price of the conference ticket.

In hindsight, there are many things I would have done differently, age should not stop anyone wishing becoming an entrepreneur. Just do not quit your day job until freelancing will allow you to keep the lifestyle you are accustomed to.

Freelancers are independent contractors; you pay taxes, purchase insurance, need a space to work, pay for any licenses to run a business. Freelancers are entrepreneurs running a business, and the money is not yours, it belongs to the business and your business pays you a salary.

Freelancers need an accountant, or learn accounting to keep clear concise records in case of an IRS audit.

All entrepreneurs are liable for paying taxes, employee withholding, Medicare, sales tax, state taxes, business licenses, and possibly medical, dental, and vision insurance. This in itself can cause entrepreneurs more than their share of frustration.

Another thing that can cause freelancers ulcers is pricing their product or services to be competitive. When outsourcing, you will have to train your virtual employee to work the way you would.

While going through my email, a usual task, to see if there was anything of interest.

I received some offers and because of past experiences knew that the offers meant money.

I hate “noreply” emails, anyway, to date, only a couple of people understand the phrase “I don’t have the money” to mean exactly that.

As a soon to be septuagenarian, I along with many others living on a fixed income do not desire to go into debt on dubious offers of some potential income while wondering if they should eat or purchase their medications for the month. Personally, I have ten medications, but only get nine because the pharmacy is having trouble getting my B-12 injectable required every other week.

Are sellers of webinars, books, programs, online training …etc. not getting the point that not everyone has money for books, programs … etc., and when they say they do not have money; that is what they mean.

The sellers are loath to offer any information about any free information because it might cut into their profit instead of helping information seekers of their journey toward knowledge.

What sellers fail to realize it that by helping a knowledge seeker, the seeker may one day be able to afford the sellers program; How about that?

I have questions

When did the philosophy of paying it forward disappear?

Am I that old or delusional to believe in paying it forward?

Has society become about the one with no regard for others?

I refuse to believe that offering products of services at a reasonable price is still a good practice, and quality is what entrepreneurs and businesses should offer as a standard while also offering the best customer service possible, and believing what customers tell you.

While earning my PhD from the University of Hard Knocks and a DIY marketer for my services, I am a firm believer in answering any and all questions in a philosophy of paying it forward.

I have some work in progress that will educate and inform readers in an honest way about the subject of freelancing, and procrastination. It might seem hard to some, but life is hard if you are willing to dabble into the realm of entrepreneurship.

I do not believe in sugar coating reality. One reality is that it may take years to become an overnight success through long hours and hard work.

There are no short cuts in life, just as there are no short cuts to being an authentic person, which also takes hard work.

I started mine because I wanted to help entrepreneurs, writers, and freelancers. I started out knowing little about running a business, with little money to put into the business, and working on obtaining my PhD at The University of Hard Knocks.

I started mine because I wanted to help entrepreneurs, writers, and freelancers from starting out knowing little about running a business with little money to put into the business, and learning through the University of Hard Knocks.

It is my desire to help readers of this blog, and highlight my writing in case someone would hire me for writing, editing or reviewing.

Being a real person, posts on this blog may be scheduled for early in the day, they are written by one person, never curated, no PLR (Private Label Rights), no MRR (Master Resale Rights), only 100 percent original writing.

It is my desire that this blog starts conversations, start thinking about what blogs should offer, and may engage readers with the content. Perhaps hired for one or more of my services by a blog visitor, ask a question about the services or about writing, marketing or social media as I am a believer in paying it forward.

Why did you start a blog?

There are many reasons to start a blog.

Blog about books in progress

Blog about books you have read

Host virtual book tours

Post book reviews

Blog about public figures’ tours, appearances, entertainment … etc.

Blog about your products, new product release date, or your services

Blog about your books with links where to purchase them

Blog about writing to help new writers

Blog about SEO, Marketing, Social Media, Networking … etc.

A blog is about what you choose as your subject. A blog should engage, establish relationships, engage readers, help your readers, and offer information that educates the reader about your product or service, about the subject you choose as the base of your blog.

The blog headline should inform the reader what to expect to find on your blog. It must be relevant to searches performed by searchers on the Internet.

The University of Hard Knocks teaches many lessons if one is open to learning.

At this stage of life, I have come to realize I just do not have the money needed to allow me to reach some of the goals I have set for myself. Therefore, I have made the decision to continue my writing journey while putting my services on the back burner; since I am not willing to create debt, I cannot afford to see what might happen, if anything does. It has not yet.

If I can help someone with my knowledge so their copy is the best it can be, I am more than happy to do so. There is no free lunch though, my services as editor writer will be available after proving how I might help a manuscript, or web copy.

I have always been inexpensive. For me, it is not about the money, but in helping someone to improve copy where needed.

I have edited manuscripts, worked as a copyeditor for Celebrity Café, written SEO web copy, ghostwritten articles, edited and written PR (Press Release).

Since my money is tight, DIY is the way I have been learning the intricacies of PR, marketing, book promotion, and freelancing from startup. The posts on this blog are about some of the lessons learned.

The posts are about being a freelancer, and running a business with limited funds. Unfortunately, my funds are limited to the point that I must apply my energy and time to the pursuit of my own writing.

I have writing projects that need my attention:

A book about freelancing

A book of quotes for writers

A book of resources for writers

A Sci-Fi with a hint of paranormal

My four blogs

Other subjects floating in my head

Getting back to free verse

This post is neither a rant nor sour grapes about my life as you might think; it is a reality check by the person that is Robert Medak Freelance Writer, who tries to live a life of honesty, integrity, and a unique moral code, unique to me.

I try to live a life that has meaning for me, for I am the person that sees his reflection in the mirror every morning, faced with one provocative question, “Am I satisfied that I did my best the day before?”

Each day is a day to pay it forward and to help people rather than chase the “almighty buck.”

Can I improve my writing with each piece I write?

When I began writing, I would compare myself to other writers. That was a huge mistake on my part. I am an individual, and my writing will never be like someone else. That does however; mean that I should not strive to improve every time I put my posterior anatomy in the chair.

I can only compare me to myself, and I can demand I improve daily as a writer and a person.

Therefore, I shall move my writing to the front burner and work on my WIPs (Works In Progress).

From an entrepreneur to corporation need an Internet presence to run and grow a business in today’s digital world.

The problem that most people are not clear what “presence” means in plain English. There is some much jargon, so-called gurus, marketers, and others with software, books, PLR, and more all selling for a price.

No one needs to spend money on programs, software, which are, one size fits all type of hype.

Building a presence takes time, and patience. There are no shortcuts or special software that can build a presence that reflects you, you are unique because of your life experiences, and you are not the same as everyone. You work the way you do because of who you are by the life you

There is no question as to whether or not you need an Internet presence, anyone working online needs one, and even brick and mortar businesses need a presence.

How to Build an Internet Presence

Have a website

Have a blog

Social network

Social media

Comment on other people’s blogs

Build relationships via social media

Join social groups related to your business

Build a portfolio

Be engaging

Answer questions

Ask relevant questions to your business or engagement

Post subjects relevant to potential customers/clients

Do not be spammy

Do not be all about selling

Do not be pushy

It is not as hard as it seems, it just takes time to build a respected presence, or unrespectability because of how you present your business online.

Just be ethical and real in all you do so your business remains in a good light.

There are many searchable job sites, some are free, a few have a monthly fee that allows you to view jobs. Finding telecommute jobs is the hard part.

Most of the job sites offer biding on jobs alongside people from many other countries, and the people posting the jobs are looking for cheap labor, meaning they want quality work but only willing to pay peanuts for it bordering on insulting.

A newbie does not know what to charge, how much work is involved in a specific job to determine what to charge. As someone just starting out, you need to have a minimum amount you are willing to work for because without a rate schedule, what will you charge?

Many of the jobs online require travel, and are in-house. Are you willing to move? Are you willing to work in-house? If you answered yes, realize that some of these jobs are short-term for a project only.

Freelancing means working for yourself and setting your own schedule, and you are responsible for accepting or rejecting a job, the expenses of running a business as an entrepreneur.

Make no mistake, working as a freelancer is a business, and you may need a license, a DBA, LLC, or C status, business insurance, bookkeeping, record keeping, and taxes. If you want to be a full-time freelancer, health and dental insurance is also up to you.

Freelancers should start out with a rate schedule that takes into consideration thinks like, overhead, running the business, rate per hour, rate per project, office equipment, while not charging too much pricing themselves out of jobs.

Working as a freelancer is the hardest work you will ever do.

The best way to find work is to start local building a portfolio (work you can show to prospective clients, thus proving you can do the job). This portfolio should be readily available for clients to look at.

Being a freelancer is hard and may take years to build a steady flow of clients. You have to have a reputation, and brand yourself.

Search for jobs within the type of freelancing niche you want to work in, and be patient. This will cause most people to leave their comfort zone, if you cannot move out of your comfort zone, freelancing is going to be difficult at best.

Search now to find work, but remember not all jobs are the same, and neither is the person posting jobs.